White Tiger, Mountain Cat
by Cherry Rain
Summary: Just a little waff fic, Ray/Mariah. After the World Championships, what happens when Ray goes back to his old village?


White Tiger, Mountain Cat  
  
Cherry Rain: I'm here with a sweet little Ray/Mariah ficcy. just waff! =] This takes place back at their home village, after the World Championships. This is also sort of a prequel to Redbird.  
  
Note: Flashbacks are marked in '~', since I can't get FF.net to do italics. Oh, and Mariah's Japanese/Chinese name is Mao.  
  
***  
  
Mariah crossed her arms as she watched some of the younger girls in the village try blading, walking amongst them and correcting their mistakes, helping with launch angle, strength of launch, explaining what went wrong. Stupid Lee, saying he was busy teaching the boys. One day they would hold a mini-tournament right here in the village and see whose trainees were better. He may have been her brother, but he was also as stubborn as a mule [or one of the village elders] when it came to females blading.  
  
But not all guys were as chauvinist as her brother, Mariah thought, her eyes glazing over to the time when she was just a kid and Lee had refused to teach her how to blade.  
  
~ Seven-year-old Mariah ran through the rain, sniffling angrily as the tears ran down her cheeks and mingled with the rain. They were all so evil! Lee had said something about only boys blading and worse, their mother had backed him up! Leaving Mariah holding the pink blade, at that time without Galux and staring in part anger, part disbelief. ~  
  
~ Heading for a spot on a small hill, she sat under a tree and sobbed quietly. It was so unfair! Why wasn't she allowed to blade? All guys were stupid! ~  
  
~ Suddenly a small hand came down on her shoulder, a reassuring weight, and a small, rain-soaked handkerchief appeared in front of her. Looking up, she saw a dark-haired boy she recognized as Ray Kon, Lee's best friend. Sniffling, she turned away. ~  
  
~ He persisted, asking, "What's wrong?" ~  
  
~ Mariah had originally intended to say it was none of his business, but he seemed sincere, so she said, "Lee won't teach me how to beyblade, he says it's not a sport for girls! But I want to blade- it's so unfair!" She tensed, expecting a rebuttal, or worse, a laugh. If he had laughed at her, she would have stood up and scratched his eyes out, or worse. ~  
  
~ He did neither. Instead, he clumsily wiped away the tears and said, "In that case, I'll teach you." ~  
  
~ Mariah looked up in disbelief. "Really?" ~  
  
~ He grinned at her. "Really." ~  
  
Smiling, she remembered all the fun times she'd had with Ray- and then a slight shadow passed across her face as she remembered when Ray had taken off, taking Driger with him. Resolutely she shoved those memories out of her mind and looked up- into a pair of golden eyes.  
  
Taking a couple of steps back, Mariah was totally taken aback by his reappearance. "Ray! What're you doing back? I thought you were in Japan with the rest of the Bladebreakers?"  
  
"Nah, I decided to come back and see the village- and you."  
  
Mariah had no idea what to make of the fact that he'd singled her out, and thus fell back on simple courtesy. "Have you seen the Elders? You will be welcome to eat at my house tonight, unless you would prefer to eat with your parents?"  
  
"I have a better idea. Come over to my place and eat," he suggested, eyes twinkling with a certain glint she recognized as Ray in a mischievous mood.  
  
Not knowing how to turn down the offer politely, she had no choice to accept. "Okay."  
  
He nodded, then looked at the girls, who were, in their turn, watching him big eyed, "Training them?"  
  
"Yeah, without you around, there wasn't anyone else to save them from the chauvinist ideas of the rest of the guys," she said, only half joking.  
  
Ray inclined his head, obviously agreeing, and Mariah almost sighed in relief. He hadn't changed much.  
  
"See you at my place at seven!" Without waiting for an answer, he turned, waved and set off.  
  
Turning back to the girls, Mariah said a little dazedly, "Practice is over, you can go now."  
  
As the little ones dispersed, she turned inwards to her own thoughts. The last time she'd seen him was at the world championships, where Bryan had injured him. She had been worried half-sick, refusing to leave his bedside before he woke.  
  
Then, he'd left with his teammates, leaving her with a handful of fond memories and the hope of more in future.  
  
And that hope had never looked brighter.  
  
***  
  
"Arggh!" Mariah glared at the pile of clothes on her bed as she fretted through what to wear. For some reason she didn't want to fathom, she was mortally afraid of making a bad impression on Ray's parents, which meant no everyday clothes, which were far too casual and a mite too tight, besides.  
  
"Ray didn't seem to mind," a voice she could identify as that of her partner and friend, Galux, whispered.  
  
"Ray is Ray! His parents are his parents! Now shut your trap unless you have any helpful advice!" she hissed. Looking over everything again, she went back to the cupboard- and her eyes lit up at what was lying at the back.  
  
This particular outfit had seemed too nice for everyday wear, but too casual for anything formal. The red mandarin style top had a mountain cat embroidered on it, with a tiger directly opposite. It reminded her of Galux and Driger. The pants to go with it were plain white. Oh, this would do very well indeed.  
  
***  
  
Ray told his mother to cook a little extra, because Mariah was coming over for dinner. Grinning in a way that seemed very unbefitting for her age, Ray's mother had simply voiced her agreement in a tone that was somewhat teasing. Ray thought he knew the reason behind his mother's sudden shift of attitude, and would have voiced protests- but he didn't believe in them.  
  
His mother thought he probably liked Mariah. She was wrong. He loved the pink-haired girl. He thought she was a younger sister when he had first left, but when he had met her again during the Asian tournament, seeing the way she had matured into a girl on the brink of womanhood, feelings that would have been very much unseemly in an elder brother had sprung to the surface. Thank god he wasn't really her elder brother.  
  
And then at the world championships, where she had sat by him day and night, when he saw the traces of faint tears left upon her cheeks that had been hastily rubbed away, he knew those feelings were no longer in question. His childhood friend, his adopted sister had become something very much a desirable female to many males, and her personality had drawn him like no other had.  
  
After the dinner tonight, he had plans for the both of them. Plans that included a quiet walk alone.  
  
***  
  
Mariah knocked on the wooden door and pushed it open when she got a "Come in!" from whoever was inside. Her nerves felt inordinately unsettled, considering the number of times she'd been in this house before. It was just that the situation was changed.  
  
Walking into the kitchen, the first impression she got was of white smoke. Until she realized it was steam.  
  
"Hello, dear!" Ray's mother said cheerily. "Why don't you go and take a seat outside?"  
  
"No thank you, Auntie. Would you like me to help you?" Sensing the older woman's hesitation in asking a guest [especially one of their only son] to help, she quickly added, "It's no trouble. I'll set the plates if you want."  
  
The woman smiled and pointed towards the stack of bowls and plates. "Thank you so much, Mao dear."  
  
Picking up the precarious pile, she carefully carried it out and began placing the plates at around the square table.  
  
"Let me give you a hand," came a male voice. She looked up to see Ray- and couldn't help her attention straying from the plate she held to Ray himself.  
  
The short sleeved shirt was a plain white, but far more fitted than his usually baggy one, toned muscles showing beneath. The pants were again long, but this time black.  
  
"Did you know there's a private tournament coming up in Greece in about three months?"  
  
She looked up in interest. "No, I didn't. I'll bring that up with Lee. He'll surely want to enter."  
  
"But the hitch is that there must be five per team from now on- new BBA rules."  
  
Mariah considered this for a moment, but then dismissed it. There were plenty of bladers in the village pumped and raring to see the world out there. There would be no trouble finding a fifth. "We'll find someone."  
  
Just then, Ray's mother bustled out of the kitchen, steaming plates in hand.  
  
***  
  
Mariah walked alongside Ray in companionable silence, too comfortable to break the peace. The dinner had been delicious and she had carried off the whole demure thing quite well, so when Ray suggested a walk, his mother had let them go without objection. In fact, she had this evil little twinkle in her eyes that helped her figure out where Ray had inherited his mischievous glint.  
  
Without noticing it, Mariah realized that they'd come back to the spot where she had cried in the rain and Ray had comforted her, promising to teach her blading.  
  
"Thanks, Ray," she said softly.  
  
She hadn't expected him to catch it, but he did and turned around, a little surprised looking. "For what?"  
  
"For teaching me to blade, for being my friend, for standing by me, for just being there. We had great times together, Ray," she said, almost whispering the words to herself.  
  
He looked as if he was steeling himself to do some difficult task- like the breaking of bad news. "We still can, you know. I never told you this, Mariah, but I love you."  
  
Her breath caught in her throat, not believing her own ears. Had he just said what she thought he said?  
  
Well, he had made the first move. It was only fair for her to make the next. Pressing herself close to him, she smiled. "Me too." It was quiet, but definitely loud enough for him to hear.  
  
***  
  
Ray instinctively wrapped his arms around the svelte girl in his arms, pressing her against him. He knew that they would face a lot of opposition from both of their team leaders on this, but that all faded away. It just felt so right to have this particular girl in his arms.  
  
Tipping her face up to his, he saw the emotions in the pools of amber that were her eyes. He'd seen them flash with bright anger, grow limpid with tears and dull over with worry, but he'd never seen them with quite that special glow they now had.  
  
Quickly closing the distance between them, he brushed his lips carefully across hers, watching, waiting, for any signs of withdrawal. Instead, she tiptoed and crushed her lips against his.  
  
The first kiss had been light, chaste.  
  
The second was anything but as the two of them both decided to explore previously unknown territories. Ray teased her until she parted her lips and let his tongue dance with hers, while her hands moved in slow circles on his back, his hands resting on her waist, their bodies close, heart to heart.  
  
Without warning, both broke apart, gasping for air.  
  
She smiled shyly at him, and he smiled back.  
  
Sitting down in the grass, he beckoned for her to do the same.  
  
***  
  
Mariah complied, sitting down beside Ray, who put an arm around her shoulder in casual intimacy formerly unknown to both of them.  
  
Ray spoke, voice a little husky from emotion. "You know Lee would kill us if he knew of this, right?"  
  
Mariah frowned a little. "He may be my elder brother, but he has no say on what I do with my life. Hell, as long as my parents don't mind, I could sleep with you and he couldn't do a thing-" and then clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing what she'd just said.  
  
Ray was grinning at her. She blushed deeply and ducked her face behind her bangs, hiding the colour in her cheeks. When she felt the blood recede from her cheeks, she continued. "Anyway, if you don't tell and I don't tell, he won't find out until quite some time later, don't you think? Anyway, Hiwatari won't be pleased to find out either, Ray Kon."  
  
"I'll deal with my team leader," Ray said, determination not to back down from this particular point showing through his voice. He acknowledged Kai as his superior most of the time, but Kai had not say over who he chose to love.  
  
"Well, that takes care of that," Mariah said briskly. "And now we can relax a little." On the latter part of the sentence, her voice changed subtly, to a soothing, low purr. Lying back in Ray's lap, she murmured, "The stars are best in the countryside. In the city, it's so hard to see them."  
  
Stroking her hair, Ray agreed with her. It seemed so natural, to just lie around with Mariah doing nothing but looking at the stars. They had a future together, and he wasn't going to let anything stand in their way. Not if he could help it.  
  
Mariah snuggled up closer to Ray. Whatever challenges the future threw at them, they would face it together. She wouldn't give up the White Tigers for Ray, but there were always subtle ways of manipulating her elder brother that would end them up in the same spot as the Bladebreakers.  
  
After a while, Ray spoke again. "We'd best go back."  
  
Getting up, she set off at an easy trot and soon got back to the village. The lights were all out, and the place was pretty much quiet. Climbing in through the window, the two of them got into Ray's room. She was too damn tired to crawl back to her own bed, so she asked Galux to wake her earlier than usual so she could get back to her own room, then clambered into Ray's bed, making space for him as well.  
  
Ray raised one eyebrow, but she was already dozing off and he was quite pleased that she trusted him enough to go to sleep in his bed.  
  
Climbing in, he pulled the covers around the both of them and smiled as he felt her snuggle closer, shifting her position so her head was pillowed in the crook of his shoulder. He rested his head on hers, holding her body close, legs intertwining comfortably.  
  
"Goodnight, Mariah. Aishiteru."  
  
"Goodnight, Ray. Wo ai ni."  
  
The two of them fell asleep with contented smiles on their faces, secure in each other's arms and their promises of love.  
  
Cherry Rain: Yay! I'm done! Now, wasn't that just sweet? *Sighs* Review, okay? I know it's pointless, but it's an article of my Ray/Mariah faith! =] 


End file.
